Let’s be real, we all want insanely aesthetic travel photos. Like the visually stimulating, Instagram-able, and alluring content. But it’s so difficult to actually create the travel content you envision, right? I’ve been there, and while I’m still learning, I have some tricks that will help you with your creative eye. If you’re having trouble translating the ideas in your head into real photos and videos, this is for you.
This post is all about taking aesthetic travel photos.
Some of these tips are incredibly straightforward. But hey, sometimes we all need a reminder that we’re just not doing the things we know we need to do. And the other tips are total game-changers you probably haven’t even thought of.
We’ve literally all experienced wanting to capture the world in a specific way, but then the photos fall short of our expectations. It’s annoying to have a creative vision but no method to bring it to fruition. Trust me, I feel you.
First, know it is possible to achieve whatever goal you have in mind. I’m not a professional photographer, but I do know how to manipulate a few things to get specific results. After being in some of the most beautiful places in the world but having no clue how to capture them, I decided to learn how to achieve creating content with a specific style. This way, even when my style changes, I now know the process of how to adjust my techniques accordingly.
Best Techniques and Tips to Capture Aesthetic Travel Photos
1. Aesthetic Photos Are All About Lighting
I’m sure you know by now, but even if you don’t, I’m here to tell you: lighting is everything. Now normally, the light source should be coming directly towards the subject. Usually, good old natural lighting can be the best because it’s naturally balanced. This means everything is well lit, without being overexposed.
Because photos are an art form, lighting is something to play around with and although there are general guidelines of what works, there are no rules in art. There’s a huge difference between a colorful, cheery photo selling summer garments and a moody photo capturing a complicated emotion.
But, sometimes natural light is unpredictable. And we don’t have a professional team around to set up freaking soft light LED lights with an assistant to add wind to our hair with a fan. At least, you know, not all the time. But here’s the great news. You can fake light with editing and you can even change what direction the light source is coming from. Yes, you can actually change photos you don’t like into ones you do.
For faking or changing my light source in photos, I use the app Snapseed. I’m sure there are more apps where you can achieve the same results, but I LOVE Snapseed. I think it’s one of the best free photo editing apps. For changing the light on your photos, you can use the selective tool found under “Tools”. Here you have the options to adjust the Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, and Structure of your photo.
If you choose the Brightness option, with two fingers, pinch to adjust the area you want to apply changes to. Then, swiping from right to left, you can increase or decrease the brightness, or light, of that area.
Let’s go through an example.
Here’s an unedited photo of me on a beautiful plantation in Lowcountry.
Here’s the same photo, but edited using Snapseed to add a light source that’s coming from behind me.
This is a bit harsh and dramatic, but I want you to be able to really see the difference and what the tool can do.
Now, here’s the same photo with the natural light source from behind me turned down and the light in the right side of the background increased:
While no photo has an incorrect light source, they all produce a slightly different sense to the photo. The one with an added light from behind me conveys that I’m the subject of the photo, while the one with the light turned down focuses more on the scenery and gives a darker feel to the photo.
When developing your creative “voice” or style, don’t be afraid to play around with lighting, turning it up and down to hide or highlight different compositions in the photo. Light is extremely powerful and can make or break your aesthetic travel photos.
2. Take Advantage of Lightroom Presets
Lightroom is amazing for adding different “filters” to your photos that are customizable. You can adjust the saturation, color curves, tone, sharpness, and so much more. This gives an endless amount of creative opportunity but can be super overwhelming, especially if you don’t enjoy the editing process.
That’s why I’ve taken advantage of lightroom presets. If you don’t know what presets are, they’re basically created from the adjustment combinations that are saved as a filter you can use on any future photo. You can create them yourself using the free Lightroom app, but you can also purchase them which saves you time and frustration.
I have both created my own presets and bought some from a creator I follow on Instagram. Here are a few links to some presets I think are really natural but also unique and well-done:
You can find presets for free to download with a quick Google search as well, but I’ve found it harder to find high-quality free presets. Once you get the hang of tuning the colors and lighting, it gets easier to create your own that you can apply to any picture with a simple click.
To save a preset, just select the circle with three dots on the upper right-hand corner of the screen after making your edits and click “Create Preset”. It will save under the “Presets” option in the toolbar where you can store all your custom filters.
This makes photo editing streamlined and efficient, giving you aesthetic photos without spending tons of time trying reinventing the wheel every time you want to filter a photo. I’m a very lazy (maybe just efficient?) person, so if I want to be consistent with anything, I have to create a system.
{Related Post: 7 Travel Bag Essentials That Will Make Your Trip Easier}
3. If Your Posing Isn’t Strong, Take A Video Instead
We’ve all struggled with trying to get a good photo, only to look awkward, stiff, or just plain weird in the end result. We’re at a perfect landscape or background for a stunning photo, and yet can’t seem to pose right to get the shot. Then, we end up ruining the photo, ugh! When you’re not feeling on your A-game for taking pictures, have the person taking your photos to record you moving around in front of your chosen background. Have them get different angles by simply moving the phone or camera around (smoothly and sturdily).
Not only is this strategy fool-proof for you, because you have an entire video to choose a photo from, increasing your likeliness of getting a good shot, but it’s fool-proof for the photo-taker too. Videos often capture the most natural, candid shots because you have more time to relax and act naturally and just let the video capture a bunch of different angles, movements, and compositions.
I’m exposing myself here 😇 by showing you an example of how taking videos can really be the content hero you’re looking for. This is a video of me on a skating trail in Mirabel, Quebec trying to show off my ice skating skills 🤥 (lol).
Even though I fell at the end of the video, I was able to screenshot the millisecond before falling, which actually made a pretty picture. So, what’s the moral of the story? The internet might as well be Hollywood, because everything is a movie set trying to capture an image, and reality is not always aligned with what you see. But, you can take advantage of that and use video to capture the highlights in your life and laugh at the fails.
4. Aesthetic Travel Photos Require Location Scouting
Thankfully while traveling, you’re going to be on the move doing sightseeing, exploring, and adventuring. Because of this, location scouting should be an organic part of taking content. In fact, some of the best photos come from wandering aimlessly and finding little nooks and crannies that are super unique and beautiful.
I would say location scouting can help when you have specific goals in mind for your content and you need to know your options. Sometimes we’re just sitting on the beach and take our photos right on the sand or surf, unaware that a half-mile down the beach are cool arched caves and giant cliffs.
Another reason scouting for the shot is helpful is due to the oversaturation of famous landmarks. We’ve seen the Eiffel tower done before- but can we capture it in a unique way that makes our photo more interesting? Location scouting can expand your experience as well, opening up serendipitous possibilities that make for really special memories and stories.
Sometimes we need a bit of a push to get outside our comfort zone, so take that hike to the top of the cliff that you normally wouldn’t, and see what happens! The most beautiful places and experiences are just around the corner from our original itinerary.
5. Use Aesthetic Photos As Inspiration, Not A Blueprint
I’m sure you’ve heard someone say that nothing is truly original anymore. We live in an age where everything has been done, at least to some extent and most corners of the world have been discovered. While that holds true, there’s a difference between seeking inspiration and copying.
Photo inspiration is huge in the fashion industry, modeling industry, marketing industry, photography industry, etc. For any type of campaign or shoot, models and photographers usually reference a mood board, which is a collection or collage of photographs used as inspiration to create the unique vibe, emotions, and aesthetic they want to achieve. This is a normal industry practice and can be super helpful before your trip if you’re looking to capture a certain artistic signature with your photos.
While inspiration is the greatest form of flattery, I don’t believe identically copying someone else’s content is a good idea. I mean hey, do you, but I think you’ll achieve greater results by adding your own allure into the photos to create something unique to you. Aesthetic travel photos are especially magnetic when you haven’t seen any quite like them. Love that photo of the girl on the Almalfi Coast with a gorgeous bikini top and sarong? Recreate it, but use a slightly different pose, or location and wear something aligned to your style.
The whole point of expressing yourself is just that- to express your own creative vision and individuality. It’s so much more fun and rewarding when you can create a creative “voice” that aligns with your own self.
This post was all about how to take and create aesthetic travel photos.
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